Hunt dates: 8/26-9/8
Booking: Mark/Adam with Adam Clements Safari Trackers
Travel: Kathi Klimes with Wild Travel
PH: Johnny Duplooy with Muchinga Adventures
Area: Luangwa Valley, Chanjuzi Concession, Kamira camp- Zambia
Rifles: Heym 404 Jeff with 400 gr A-Frames and Demas 450-400 3" with 400 gr Woodleigh softs and solids.

Well, all my concerns and worries over the trip on SAA were unfounded as all went very smooth. All gear arrived with me in Lusaka. Johnny and Laura's assistant, Teresa, met me at Lusaka airport and expidited me thru customs, etc....absolutely no problems. Spent the night at Johnny and Laura's place....they have recently completed a 3 room "guest wing"...and flew out the next morning with Johnny, Allister (PH), Steve (client) and myself. About 2 hours later we arrived at the airstrip which is about 30 minutes from camp. Steve and Allister were headed to the Yaminga camp about 45 minutes from the camp we headed to.
After the normal meet and greet from the camp staff, we settled into our respective chalets. These chalets are very comfortable and have bathroom and shower in-suite. It's not the Hilton, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way....this is the REAL DEAL in an African safari....complete with geckos and 3 tree frogs that loved the shaving mirror....we became buddies.
The Luangwa Valley area is absolutely awesome and has an abundance of plains and dangerous game. We heard or saw buff, elephants, hippo, croc, lion and leopard DAILY. As a matter of fact, we had nightly visitors in camp consisting of elephant and lion...with the leopards staying in the perimeter shadows. When they say don't go out after the generator goes off.....they aren't kidding.
I did not have an extensive "got to shoot it" list as I have been to SA and Zim previously, and focused primarily on buff and leopard. I HAD no intention of taking a Cookson's Wildebeest....but since they're only available in this area, and a nice one presented itself one evening....the 404 took him squarely in the chest and he went to the salt.
We had earlier taken a couple of impala for baits, and had them hung for a day or so. When we whacked the wildebeest, we took a leg and hung it in another spot.
To make a long story short, we had, at one time, 5 different Toms feeding on the 5 hung baits. There are leopard here...trust me.
One morning, while checking baits, we ran into a large herd of buff and decided to see if there was an old hard head for me. We had put nice stalks on 2 other groups of buff previously, but either got winded, or the bulls were immature.
We ran out of cover on this stalk and as the herd passed by, we spotted the bull pictured below midway in the herd, but at about 180 yards.....there was NO WAY to get closer as we were literally stading behind a small tree. But I felt real comfortable with the shot and took it. Johnny called a good shot and I did see the bull rock at impact. Johnny and Joey (apprentice PH) both saw blood coming from the nose and mouth. The buff ran with the herd, but lagged behind a bit.....but the whole gang disappeared into the high grass. Oh $hit.
Well, I swapped the 404 for the double 450-400 and off we went. 2 hours and about 1 click later....we were moving very slowly...we spotted him laying down about 30 yards ahead in a clearing at the base of a tree. As he got up, a Woodie soft and solid caught him in the chest, and then 2 more solids after I reloaded. He was down for the count and the "bellow" followed. Has anyone said how tough these suckers are??? The first shot from the 404 had buggered up BOTH lungs severely.
I must say, however, that it was pretty cool to get to follow him up in the long grass with a double....perfect tool for the job.
Back to the leopard.....we made a plan to sit on a bait that had been hit by a BIG cat...set up a blind and sat...he never came back. We then sat on another bait 2 nights later.....the cat never came back.
We actually passed on sitting where a "medium" sized Tom had been feeding as Johnny said we had time and we might be able to do better....it was my call and I went with it.
We finally decided to build a blind where 2 different Toms had been feeding (as well as 2 attempts by lions).
It is REAL interesting to hear a lion walk within a few feet of the blind, followed about 30 minutes later by another cat....Mr. Spots. It was just at last light when he went up the tree and hit the bait. Know how the scope brightens things up at dusk?....well he filled my scope on 1.5x at 40 yards. One shot, he hit the ground hard and made what sounded like a 3 second dash. We waited about 10 minutes and left the blind, got to the bait tree and....no cat. 30 minutes of looking later...in the dark with flashlights...and we found him. He had made it about 50 feet from the tree, but thru some thicket that was "crawl in only" material. Johnny later told me that the only reason we went in was because he knew the cat was dead...no growl, no nothing..after the shot.
None the less.....looking for that cat had ALL my senses on high alert.
After that, we sort of took it easy the last couple of days, with me taking the puku in the pictures here near the end of my trip.
There had been 2 other couples in camp...not at the same time...and we had helped them with their hippo and croc harvests. Of course, we got to use a bit of the hippo for bait as well.

This was, without a doubt, an extraordinary trip. From the flawless dealings with Adam, Mark and the VERY helpful staff (THANK YOU JAMIE!) of AC Safari Trackers to the camp staff and, of course my new buddy, Mr. Duplooy...things were perfect....and I mean that. I travel to Africa with no pre-conceived notions of how things should be....just let it happen. And this was a hell of a trip.

Since the pics are below, and speak pretty much for themselves, I'll just add that the buff was just under 39" with a nice boss and the leopard was 7' and 150 pounds.....and I'm a happy man.


















Gary
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Gary,

Thanks for that report. It looks like you experienced the living Dark Continent that keeps my daydreams alive.

A few years back I had the good fortune of hunting sable with Alistar. A DG hunt like yours would would be an absolute dream come true. Well done!

Well done Gary
nice trophies and looks like a good hunt,might have to look into that area myslef

Great report, congrats on the cat and the rest of the bag, really awesome. Tell us a little more about the rifles .

Fantastic! Tell us more about the bullets from left to right. How did you like the performance of the 450/400(penetration and what not)?

Congratulations on all of your trophies and your successful hunt!

Very nice report, thanks.

Gary,

I can smell the air on Luangwa.

Congrats!

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Gary,

I can smell the air on Luangwa.

Congrats!

Mark

I can see the hazy sunset over the luangwa.
Unfortunately I wasn't hunting during my time there.

Good one Gary , Pity you couldn't fit the 425WR in with you luggage.

Nice report and trophies, congratulations on a great trip.

Great report and pictures.

Awesome buff and leopard.

THANKS, gents! It truly was a fantastic trip that I will never forget. My goal, on all my hunts, is to take an old, past prime, representative trophy of the species I am pursuing. I am well satisfied that I achieved this in Zambia with Johnny and the gang. Our trackers, Stanley and Boniface, were absolutely top notch and we had great fun joking with them in the down time.
Smallfry....the guns were a Heym bolt action in 404 Jeff wearing a 1.8x5.5 Zeiss with a #4 reticle. Ammo was 400 gr Swift A-frames loaded to 2280 fps. The double was a Demas 450-400 3" loaded with 400 gr Woodleigh softs and solids at a speed of just under 2100 fps.
Left to right on the bullets: 404 Swift taken from bait impala after traveling about 3 feet from back to front...he was facing away looking back at us. 404 Swift taken from middle of wildebeest after center of chest shot...he was facing head on at 150 yds. Next is 404 Swift taken from offside of buff hit broadside but a hair forward at 180 yds. Next two are Woodleigh softs from 450-400 after hitting buff at 15 yards and finally a solid taken from buff after hitting him in right rear hip and coming to rest in front right shoulder bone.
Good performance by all bullets I feel.

Thanks again for your posts....it's nice to be back, but I wish I was still wiping dust from my gun in the Luangwa Valley...sipping a Windhoek brew by the evening fire!

Gary
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Congratulations Gary. Looks and sounds like a great trip. Your camp photos bring back fond memories. Isn't Stanley an incredible tracker and gentleman!

Gary,

Congratulations!!!Excellent report and photos.

Congratulations! Thanks for the great report and pictures.

Congrats on a great hunt and some nice trophies! I like the Cookson's Wildebeest... only place in the world to get them! Very nice tom and good buff. I really enjoyed Zambia, looks as if you did too.

Congrats on a great safari! Im hunting with John and Laura in 2010 and hope my trip will be as successful as yours. Primary goal is buffalo. How would you describe the quality of the Buff? Any recommendations as to gear, etc. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks BN

Thanks to all....and especially to Mark and Kathi who helped make this all happen. My wife says I'm having severe "Luangwa withdrawal symptoms"....I agree....I need another dose!

BN...the quantity and quality of the buff are excellent. There are old bulls with hard bosses and younger, wider herd bulls with slightly softer bosses....and a few just plain old, wide and hard bulls. Depending upon when you go, the buff may be in a large single herd or broken up into 3 or 4 herds. Remember...these buff are CONSTANTLY harrassed by lions. As a matter of fact, a couple whose time overlapped mine by a few days shot 2 buff one evening within the span of 15 minutes, and were charged by a cow buff that had been attacked and chewed up by 3 lions at the same time. Abie (Johnny's brother and one of their PH's) whacked it during the charge at about 10 yds. As soon as they left to load their bulls, the lions came back and started feeding on her again! You will have a good time sorting out which one you want and you certainly won't have to take the first one you see.

I can't imagine anyone going to this area and not having the experience of a lifetime.
As I understand from Johnny, Abie, Allister and Terry (all PH's with Muchinga) this area is where P.H. Capstick spent a fair amount of time and wrote his book "Death in the Long Grass"....I can certainly believe it.

Thanks for the responses.....I enjoyed myself greatly and cerainly enjoy sharing the experience with you all.

Gary
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Oh....almost forget.....SBT...yes, Stanley is an incredible individual. Johnny reckons he's in his 50's....and scales those trees to tie those baits with the best of them. He seems to be the anchor for the crew....he is highly respected by all.

Gary
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Gary,
Great report and very nice trophies. I am jealous as I am not going to Africa this year but your report and pictures have helped me get over some of my withdrawal syptoms.

David.....I am more than glad to help. I just wish some of you boys lived close by so we could swap stories over a cold beer from time to time. It's the memories that we can share that keeps the pursestrings loose for that next trip!

Gary
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Well done Gary. Gongratulations!

Gary- thanks for the encouragement! Im really looking forward to this hunt as I got skunked on Buffalo in the Selous. Any other pics of camp, terrain or anything would be greatly appreciated. Phil

Phil....send me a PM and I'll send some pics to your e-mail. I have some of the chalets and the terrain in the Kamira/Yaminga area.

Gary
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Way to go Gary!!! I am so glad that you had such a great hunt, I knew you would!!

How were the Mopane flies? Was Lamik still working there? How has Alister's year been on cats? Did your wife do OK?

Congrats on the successful hunt!

John

THERE'S MY BUDDIES....John and Kathy! I had a great time. Yes, Lamik, the chief's son, is still there. He was in the other camp from me....hunted with Alister and his client, Steve, from Phoenix. Everybody is 100% on cats except for one of Johnny's lion hunters that turned down a lion....wanted something different. That place is crawling...no pun intended....with cats.
My wife didn't go...she had never planned on going with me....plus she ain't a campin' sort of gal.
She is encouraging a full body mount on the leopard though....so she does have some redeaming qualities.
Glad to hear from you my friend. Hope all is well.
Tell Kathy hello.....and are you all headed to Dallas or Reno?

Gary
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quote:

Everybody is 100% on cats except for one of Johnny's lion hunters that turned down a lion....wanted something different. That place is crawling...no pun intended....with cats.

That is what I was hoping to hear.

thanks Gary,
looks like you had an unforgetable experience.
welcome home,now its time to plan the next trip

Alister had a tall order this year. If I remember correctly, he had 5 lions and 9 leopards to get. Good to hear the cat man is maintaining his credibility!!

I knew the wife wasn't going but it slipped my mind! Let's see some more pics if possible. You got some really nice trophys! Love the Cookson's- you made the right decision to get one!
Was George still doing the cooking?
Did you have a party on the night of the Leopard?
Sadly, we will miss the 2009 DSC convention as I will be hunting Coues Deer in Mexico at that time. I tried the hunt last year but got "kicked" out of the country so am doing a retry this year.

John

Correction- Alister had 5 lions and 7leopards to get.

Gary,

What an awesome trip. Great trophies. Glad that you made it back safely. I agree with your wife - full body mount is the way to go.

Doug

John...yes, Alister got his cats...to-date...he still has 1 lion and 1 or 2 leopards left. George is still brewing up chow...and Peter and Paul are still serving it up. They make a great combo.
Good news must travel fast as the WHOLE CAMP was waiting our return. Drums, dancing, and the rest was going on. I actually taught Kennedy (our game scout) how to square dance....and that was BEFORE we popped our first brews!
It was a fantastic experience that won't be forgotten.

Doug.....how are you? Yes...as can been readily seen, I had a great time. Thanks for the comments...I am very happy with all my trophies....and to think I wondered at one time if I really wanted to take a leopard. Foolish boy.
YOUR trip is what....next summer? I assume that's still a go?
I'll keep in touch as I'm not sure whether I'm coming to Dallas or Reno this year...well actually next year.
I'll send you a PM later as I want to chat about the elephant hunt we casually tossed about a few months ago....it hasn't left my mind yet.
Hope you and the family are well.

Take care.

Gary
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Gary- more pictures please!!

John

Excellent hunt, congratualtions!

Zambia is indeed "real Africa"...I am not sure excatly what it is, but there is something...

I too never saw more cats (lion and leopard) then I saw along the Luangwa.

And I second John, more picts!!!

Gary,

Both AR members Dean Maki and Andy Drook plus his party are hunting with DuPlooy as I write this. If they have as nice a safari as you had they'll be very happy hunters.

Mark

Mark....I spoke with Andy on a few ocassions, most recently the day before he left. If I recall it was Andy and his wife, another couple and a single male observer. He was VERY anxious to talk to me once I returned. I gave him the thumbs up and he left with his sights full of buff and his finger on the trigger. I'll be waiting for his report in a couple of weeks. Hope he has a great time....I know he will.

Gary
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Hey GarBy,
Thanks for telling me about this website, good opinions. His hunt was just as he tells it I was in the camp next door with Alister. These guys do it right, 5 years in a row with them first buff 40" then 42" then 44" then 43" this year 41" dugga bull at 18 yards with a .470 double, proper buffalo hunting.

Welcome to the forums, Steve. Thanks to my great experiences and the time I spent chatting with Steve and the gang, now I think I need to go back for a lion, or sable....the possibilities are almost endless.

By the way, Steve.....the boys on the forum here are pretty open....you need to tell about the 470 and the hippo, too.

Steve took some fine trophies with Johnny and his gang...most namely Alister, over those 5 years. Zambia is such an awesome place.

Gary
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470? what 470? you mean missing a hippo 4 times at about 45 yards? Dont laugh it could happen to anybody, Heck I shot a lion it the foot in 2005.

I wasn't going to mention that!

Gary
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